Choi Gaon of Korea is in action during her second run of the women's snowboard halfpipe qualification at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap
MILAN — Snowboard halfpipe medal contender Choi Gaon qualified for the final in her Winter Olympics debut on Wednesday.
Choi of Korea earned 82.25 points to finish sixth among 24 boarders in the qualification at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, some 140 kilometers north of Milan.
The top 12 athletes advanced to the final scheduled for Thursday. They each performed two runs, and the better score of the two determined the standings in the qualification. They will have three runs in the final.
In both cases, the highest and lowest of the six judges' scores are discarded.
In halfpipe, boarders perform acrobatic spins, flips and board grabs on a 22-foot, U-shaped structure. They are judged on degrees of difficulty, height and execution of their moves.
With three victories on the International Ski and Snowboard Federation World Cup circuit this season, Choi arrived in Italy as a viable threat to the throne of Korean American superstar Chloe Kim, who is going for a historic three-peat.
Choi opened her first run with the switch backside 720 stalefish, involving two full backside rotations with a grab of the heel edge of the board with her backhand between the bindings, and executed four other tricks cleanly.
Choi had a wobbly landing on one of the moves in the second run, and her first score stood as her final qualification score.
Kim, despite dealing with a torn labrum in her left shoulder, topped the qualification with 90.25 points.
Source: Korea Times News
